Other Sunsets

by Megan Auffart

Launch down
South of the border in a corset and a smirk
Cowboy boots and braided hair
Strands the colors of spilled oil on the concrete
Hands as pale as thin white spiders with colored tips
Lights shining in eyes of pearl which scout for their latest conquest
Hands on strutted hips that move like danger incarnate
Launch down
Settling on his lap with his thumb in your mouth
Tongue wrapping itself like a cat
Tasting the salt and the smoggy nights
And wishing that, whatever happens,
You will still be able to taste him when it's over
Hung down
Launched into oblivion while sitting in his lap
Cowboy hat tilted off your head like an invitation
Breathing foreign words of magic into his ear
One hand rubbing at his chest like a pet
Purring at him as you curl and twist
Launch down
Rockets inside of faded blue jeans with silver belt buckles
Cowboys to ride off into the sunset with
And spend the night staring at the stars with your face in his hair
Breathing in his scalp while his insect hands tickle at your neck
Pulling your lips into his, one tongue greeting the other
Held down
Giving yourself to him like a present
Unwrapping his clothes with care and precision
And growing drunk on his scent, like the desert after rain
Till the entire world begins to readjust itself
Flexing in tune with your innermost workings
As the sheets breathe softly with every maneuver
Launch down
Feeling some small twitching where no muscle has ever flexed
And wondering if Saturn with its pulsing rings would compare
To the sight of his back rippling like new meadows
Held tight, small thirsts developing in your skull
You sigh out of habit and wonder, fleetingly
What other sunsets there are left to explore